Old Rangers set for liquidation as administration process ends

Paul Clarke said the liquidation would not affect the new club in Division Three

The former Rangers Football Club is to be put into liquidation after creditors approved an end to the administration process which began on 14 February.

Administrators Duff and Phelps will now apply to the Court of Session to have BDO appointed as liquidators.

The club, which was formed in 1872, was placed in administration over over non-payment of tax totalling about £14m.

HM Revenue and Customs blocked a CVA (creditors agreement) that would have allowed the old club to continue.

Following this, Duff and Phelps oversaw a sale of assets to the Sevco consortium led by Charles Green for £5.5m.

Name change

Shareholders in the old Rangers subsequently gave their approval for Sevco to change its name to The Rangers Football Club Limited.

The old club, which remained in administration, has since been known as RFC 2012.

The new club, started by Mr Green's consortium, began life in the Scottish Third Division.

Announcing moves to end the administration period, joint administrator Paul Clark said: "Creditors have today given their approval for the administrators to bring the administration process to an end and to place the company into liquidation.

"As a result, we as administrators have instructed our legal team to prepare the necessary application for lodging in the Court of Session as a matter of urgency.

"Should the application be approved, then Malcolm Cohen and James Bernard Stephen of BDO will be appointed liquidators of RFC 2012 plc, and will undertake the process of liquidation of the 'oldco' company and the continued recovery of funds for creditors."

Mr Clark said this would not affect the new Rangers "as it is a completely separate entity".

He added: "As administrators, our primary statutory function was to ensure Rangers continued as a business and this was achieved.

"Secondly, we were tasked to secure a buyer for the club and this too was achieved.

"We are delighted that plans for the revitalisation of Rangers are now continuing with the new owners' intention to float the club on the AIM market."

Mr Clark said the administration process had been "comparatively short" and had been handled by Duff and Phelps to "the highest professional standards".

"We have co-operated fully with inquiries into our appointment by Lord Hodge at the Court of Session and the Insolvency Practitioners' Association," he added.

UPDATE: An appeal to the BBC Trust about the terminology used in this story was partially upheld on 18 June 2013.